Still galleries of background artwork included on the DVD set reveal the artists who worked on the film were taking a very impressionistic approach to background work. This technique created the illusion of depth and realistic movement across great stretches of background. Starting with the Oscar-winning short film "The Old Mill" (which is included as a bonus on this DVD set), Walt Disney pioneered the use of the multiplane camera, a device that allowed for one camera to shoot through layered panes of painted glass that could be moved independent of one another. It's a good thing, because the increase in technology allowed the film to feel more realistic than any animated film previous to that time. After reading the book in 1935, Walt Disney hoped to make the picture his follow-up to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Instead, both "Pinocchio" and "Fantasia" were made before "Bambi" lit the silver screens in 1942.
#THUMPER BAMBI GIF RUNNING MOVIE#
The movie "Bambi" was based on a novel by Felix Salten. The charming, economically told story (70 minutes) is not only about death, but also about friends, and growing up, and parallels the characters' life cycle with that of the forest. Of course, all this talk of death makes "Bambi" seem like a morose picture, which it is not. And though I don't remember it either, it's likely that seeing "Bambi" was the first time I ever thought about death. No doubt I was one of many children who, after the film was over, asked their parents quietly where Bambi's mother went (a quick email to my mom revealed the forest fire scene made a big impression on me). In fact, at the age of three, it was the first movie I ever saw in the theater, though I don't remember it at all. "Bambi" is one of those films that kids see at an early age. Then I watched the accompanying documentary on the making of the film, wherein contemporary Disney staffers acknowledged their debt to this 1942 film when they scribed and animated "The Lion King." Long before Simba witnessed his father Mufasa's death on the African Serengeti, children worldwide experienced their first vision of birth, death, and rebirth through "Bambi." Upon watching the restored version of "Bambi" on DVD this week, I was struck by how familiar the story felt.